DIY: Scrapbook Cover Tutorial

Phew!

What an adventure!

And we have so many illustrations, notes, stories, photos, polaroids, souvenirs and ticket stubs collected from our journey that our minds are swimming. Being a total hoarder, I find it painfully hard to part with even the smallest of things. But I do enjoy a little organization...

I took this cheeky little notebook all over when we went on our trip, and to put it bluntly, it is in quite a state now. Rather than tear it all up and create a new book with it, I am going to up-cycle it with a lovely new jacket. Hurrah!

There he is. Mr Whitelines has done some mileage and it certainly shows. Fear not! We will save you from the recycling bin yet!

All we need to give my paper notebook a new lease of life is some scissors, tacky glue (Modge Podge / pva glue), a sturdy brush (like for Decoupage) and some fabric...

You may notice my fabric is a little strange.

That is because I am using the sleeve I cut off my vintage dress!

Yup, this was the dress I drastically altered when I went to see Dolly Parton. I also wore it when we went out line dancing in Nashville (when in Rome, right? Hee hee!) So obviously this seemed fitting for using as my book cover. I am in upcycling heaven! I started this project by cutting off the cuff, which is now being used as a cuff-bracelet (naturally!)

So, as my material used to be a sleeve, it has a seem on the inside. I am going to use this as extra support for the spine of my book as it is pretty sturdy; something this book needs! As you can see my sleeve is MASSIVE and can more than cover this notebook. Remember to check your widths before you start!

Firstly, cut up the tube of fabric so the seam is left untouched in the middle of the material. As I mentioned before, this will be used to cover the spine of the book. Once you have it lined up, cut out around your scrapbook with about 2cm excess material all around. Then simply cover your book in a thin layer of glue. (Make sure it's not swimming in the stuff as it will warp if you use too much.) Then, press it down onto the fabric...

Next, we will need to neaten up the edges. Firstly, cut a little right angle out of all four of your corners. Then glue down the length of the fabric and fold it shut into your cover. When you repeat this with the remaining material you will notice you have neat little corners created on your book. No more dog-ears!

Due to the nature of my booklet, I will be un-able to tuck the seams of the fabric by the spine beneath the stitched paper inside. Instead, I will simply trim off the excess material on the top and bottom of the book. If you can tuck it under and glue it, I recommend it -- but nothing will fall apart if you cant!

Nearly done already - doesn't it look great?

As this book is only paper and is covered in glue, it's a good idea to stick it under a bunch of heavy books for a while to prevent it from warping as it dries. Leave it for a few hours / over night if you can (but I'm not that patient!!)

*Ta*Da*

Beautiful isn't he?

Once dried you can get to work on your super awesome new label. I have gone with a map of showing which states we visited for the background and have added a little horse shoe for luck :) I am so proud of my little notebook and I am proper chuffed I made use out of those fat sleeves. My mother would be so proud of me right now! Hee hee

Hope you got a little scrap inspiration from this little up cycle tutorial - let me know if any of this didn't make sense, I am feeling the jet lag today. Can't wait to show you what we have been working on over the next few weeks... but in the mean time,

Happy scrapping!